Tuesday, December 11, 2012

I have always loved to draw, but I've always been that person who really needs to work on a project, or even a simple sketch to make it look nice, or that's what I think at least. I've always been extremely jealous of those people who can just sit there and start sketching this amazingly beautiful picture in a matter of minutes. Despite that though, I really just love to finish a drawing and feel so proud of what I was able to create. I really enjoy doing more fun types of drawings, like logos, cause I always break my drawings down into simpler shapes before I make them more complex. I don't really mean to do that, but rather I think it's more subconscious. It makes drawing easier for me I guess.

This class was definitely more of a challenge for me. I took art for four years in high school, so it wasn't the drawing itself that was more difficult, it was dedicating more time outside of class to my work that was more of a struggle for me. In high school all of our projects were done during class hours everyday. However, I really enjoyed the challenge of this class. It allowed me to really challenge and push the potential of my drawing abilities. Despite how much I may have struggled with my projects, I was relatively happy with the outcome of most of them.

Drawing is something that I love to do to de-stress, so doing it with a deadline and on such a large-scale was a little more difficult for me. It's something I want to continue to do for the rest of my life, and I think that this class truly helped me to gain a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses in drawing, and certain techniques and skills that are more suited to me. So thank you for allowing me to have a better understanding of myself and my drawing abilities, as well as a great way for me to challenge these talents and abilities.

Friday, December 7, 2012

I have always loved to draw. I was quick to catch on to new techniques and developed my skill through repetition of the motions I grew used to. However, my drawing abilities reached a plateau by the time I hit high school. I continued taking courses, but I sheltered myself within the artistic boundaries I knew well. I was not experimental, I didn't want to try new mediums, and would hesitate to draw subjects that were alien to me.

Drawing at Duke really pushed me to my limits in requiring large scale works each week. Qualifications for good art were clearly outlined, allowing me to break down exactly what I needed to do for each project. Before this semester, I had never really put too much thought into drawings before doing them. It was just "go ahead, draw an animal in pencil". This granted me liberty in my pursuits but no expectation. There was nothing to live up to in drawing, so I continued to draw only what I was comfortable with (which didn't include landscapes... or still lifes!). Additionally, before this semester at Duke, the time I committed to drawing was reduced to the time I spent doodling in class.

The high expectations each 18 x 24 project inherently held ultimately drove me to produce works I could be proud of. After 6 to 8 hours of drawing, I looked back at each project with fulfillment. As opposed to my work in other classes in the sciences, where I feel as though I could always study more in preparing for a test, this work was different. Once a drawing was complete, I felt complete. I felt happy and excited that I challenged myself and followed through.

Learning to draw is like learning to speak a new language. The ultimate goal is to transmit the idea in your mind into something people can interpret, as with conversation. To do that, you must first understand and interpret the subject yourself. This class has given me much insight on how to do that because it required me to sit down, think, compose and translate imagery. The process was demanding in time and effort. But all that time and thought was worth it because I'm a better artist as a result.

Drawing
has been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember. Drawing used to be my
favorite thing to do to pass time while growing up. I used to draw cars and
cartoon characters while in elementary. I was always competitive with my
friends with my drawings. I drew just about everyday and I became pretty
good at it, so I decided to take an art class as an elective in high school.
That was the first time I had any instruction on how to do things like shading.
It was also my first time to have my drawings critiqued, and my first time
having the graded.

I also got
involved in sports in high school, and that in turn made my drawing assignments
feel like a chore rather than the fun it used to be. I mean, I enjoyed it
but I didn’t have the time to do it when I felt like it. That’s when I
got away from what I liked so much about drawing. Even though I wasn’t drawing
a lot, I still would do a little something here and there. Also, the fact that I don’t have as much time
to actually draw a piece, I have become more drawn to art as a whole from
graffiti to paintings to sculptures and all I between.

I decided to take drawing here at duke to
rekindle the passion I once had for it, but due to the season I found myself
rushing a lot. The main thing that I had to get adjusted to was drawing on such
a big surface. I was used to drawing in my notebook and this class changed
that. The assignments were interesting, but I wish I had more time or wasn’t so
tired so much. Drawing is one of the most fun things that I do, but it can also
become frustrating. I enjoy the feeling of completing a complicated
piece. But I really enjoy it more when I can just draw when I get the time to
relax.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

“Don’t cat’s have their tails up?” Oh no, did they? In one of my earlier drawing memories, I am trying to hide the orange cat I just drew from my mom. Above the cat I had written “I love you mami,” an intended gift for my mother. I used to be proud of it, that is until an older girl pointed out I had drawn the tail incorrectly. As I grew older, I soon realized that there is no correct way to draw anything.Drawing comes from the depths of the imagination, and is an expression of the artist’s heart.

Drawing for me has never been about a destination. The process of putting my ideas on paper relaxes, inspires, and surprises me in the end. When I was about 12 years old I would make up stories for my siblings with a pencil in hand. It was a "make it up as you draw" story. As I spoke, I would draw, and, as the character I drew happened to have surprised looking eyes, I’d draw something for him to be surprised by, perhaps a dragon. The dragon I’d draw might turn out resembling a retarded rock more than a dragon, so I’d change my story to say the dragon had been turned to a rock. The original character would then set out on a quest to awaken the rock. And so on.

That is my favorite way to draw, with no predetermined destination. In highschool I would draw during lectures. The longer they spoke, the more intricate the drawing would become. I’d look up at my teacher every few seconds, but my heart was elsewhere-in the world I’d be creating in my very notebook. It was a beautiful escape.

When I came to Duke, I stopped sketching during classes. Until this semester, taking Fick’s drawing class, which has been wonderful.

I used to draw only from my imagination. At first drawing from actual buildings and objects scared me. I felt pressure to make my drawing appear like the real thing, and I felt cramped. However, I’ve learned through charcoaled hands that drawing from observation is nothing like snapping a camera. The artist must observe the world and return the image in their own way. Still life and landscape sketches have expanded my skill set so that I can better express what is in my head. Each week we look over student’s drawings. You get a glimpse of everyone’s unique style and perspective. It is beautiful

I used to be afraid to make dark lines. I would spend minutes on end staring at the black paper, imagining all the possible places I could make my marks. As a result it would take me forever to draw anything. Now I’ve developed a "go for it style, where I just start drawing. The eraser is my new best friend. It’s like drawing backwards! I used to pick up an eraser to correct a mistake. Now the eraser is a tool, and I can use the eraser to draw too. No pressure, no mistakes. One day Professor Fick said my style was to “make a mess, clean up the mess.” I love how much I’ve been able to develop my confidence and personal style this year. I am so thankful for the opportunity to take this class, and all that I have learned from it. Thank you, Professor Fick!

I was always "scared" of the idea of drawing. The only drawings I did were the "non-sense" sketches in kindergarten and elementary school (lol!). When I grew up I frequently had the idea of taking some classes and learning some kinds of drawing, but my friends who can draw scared me away. Their drawings were so crazy, so complicated, and I was always like "Ohhhhhh.. that's too much I can't do that!"

I went to study abroad in Berlin this summer and was enrolled in a course called Art and Architecture. I would never enrol in that class if the professor would email us before (instead of after) enrolment that we would need to sketch during the class. That freaked me out, partially because I can't draw (and I wanted good grade haha), and partially because I was worried about the people in that class who could. The very first class was a mini drawing practice. The professor, instead of talking about practical skills, told us one tip of drawing: we need to get rid of the stereotypes and simply draw what we saw. For example, he said, when you think of the sun you probably will think of a red circle, as when you were a kid that was the kind of practice you were given to symbolise stuff. But that is a very dangerous idea, because sun doesn't necessarily look like that. When you draw it is very important to get rid of those ideas and drawing exactly what you saw. That was mind-blowing to me indeed! Then he handed out the first practice - some tree brunches - and I was like "okay.. I guess I will just draw exactly what I saw?"So I picked a spot as a starting point and focused on the outline, even though sometimes it looks weird, and never thought about what tree brunches are supposed to be like or what kinds of art styles I was supposed to be have. When the time ran out I looked at my drawing and it actually made sense! We continued with more mini practices and I think that day was my moment of enlightenment - For a time I thought drawing was about "techniques", and I can't draw because I don't have the "technique" of shading/drawing figures/ drawing landscapes. But actually, drawing is not that crazy/scary because I need simply to draw what I saw=).

It turned out that was the only drawing lesson the professor gave us. He then handed us sketchbooks and asked us to draw whatever we wanted. And I went aggressive because I had no idea if something would be hard/easy to draw at all. The first object I drew was a random opened packet of chips in my room because it looked cool, and it took me the whole night to sketch that. I had no idea of shading, so I just darked the places where I found was dark on the packet. The result of course looked good but more importantly, I was not scared of that drawing the whole time, even when I was having trouble. I mean, how hard it would be to draw what you see?=)

I didn't get any actual skills or serious drawings out of that class yet I carried that mind set to our drawing class (which I think should be more important). As a result I was still nervous about our drawing class at the beginning and our class indeed is full of concepts I'm not familiar with, yet each time I got relieved when telling myself that I would simply draw what I saw. (I think the only time I was concerned was the subtractive drawing, as I can't really just draw what's there. That's why I went to the Monday class for extra practice haha.) I love the in-class practices also because it's so cool to see myself from completely confused of the concept to having something that makes sense on the sheet. I think I'm good at finding where the problems of my practices were because I was always comparing it with the actual setting (like "why the shading of that chair on the left of that corner looked different!" haha). I think that's also the reason why I tend to go to the extreme - I didn't really know (or care) if something is complicated and each time when I needed to speed up I was always like "ahhh but there's also something going on at that tiny little spot! And that tiny little spot! I need to finish those cuz I saw them!" But I really enjoyed the process (and wouldn't mind the time consumption) and learnt so much from it. I'm also proud of myself because now I have actual proof that I can actually draw! =)

I think to be actually good there are more I need to do because drawing is not only about what you see. I can't really do abstract drawings or intensively using charcoals as then I can't get the details out and that freaks me out lol. So probably "draw what you see" would become the new stereotype I need to get rid of, but nevertheless I'm very grateful that I'm in both drawing classes as they closed the gap between me and drawing=).

Art
has always been a significant part of my life. I’ve been drawing ever since I
could remember and it remains a key part of my identity. I used to doodle all
the time during class and instead of notes, I’d have a few words jotted down
with the rest of the sheet covered in drawings. These preliminary doodles would
later become the primary source of inspiration for my studio paintings.

One
thing I noticed is that it definitely is true that the more you enjoy doing
something, the better you will be at it. I love drawing and the more I drew,
the better I got at it. This then further increased my motivation to draw even
more. My drawings were something that I could be proud of and it helped me
develop a sense of self-confidence as I was growing up.

I
love art because it provides an outlet for me to express my feelings and
thoughts when words fail me. There are no discriminations or limitations on art
because it can be universally appreciated and understood. It does not
differentiate between race or social hierarchy and can produce a deep
connection with people without the inhibitions of language. When I draw, I
enter another world where the only restrictions are limited to my imagination.
I am free to create anything and it is this creative expression that is so
incredibly satisfying to me.

Art
has also taught me to perceive the world differently. People look, but not
everyone actually sees. Beautiful moments occur daily, but many fail to
recognize it. A simple image of a tree may not be immediately striking, but if
you are forced to draw it, you will notice the intertwining crevices and rich
textures of the wood. It is then juxtaposed with the vibrancy of the smooth
waxy leaves and interrupted with pops of color from the vibrant blossoms. This
tree is thus transformed from a mundane object to a magical work of art,
entirely within the mind. Drawing is not merely skill and control of the hands;
it requires re-shifting of the mind as well. I can see this directly in my life
because I am constantly open to inspiration from daily objects and events. As I
move onward towards my life, the future remains indefinable, but one thing I am
certain of is that art will continue to remain an essential aspect of my life.

Growing up
as a child, I was fortunate enough to have a lot of exposure to arts. My family
background is deeply rooted in visual arts; our family owns an art gallery in
Korea, my mom graduated college with an art history degree, and my sister works
at the National Museum of Korea. Because I grew up in an environment where I
was surrounded by a number of art collectors and artists, I used to spend most
of my time drawing with crayons in a sketchbook, all of which my parents kept.
Looking at my daily drawing journals from kindergarten still helps me remember
little details that I would have otherwise forgotten. So, I personally
understand what a powerful tool drawing can be, whether one is good at it or
not.

As I grew
older, I sadly began to face the reality that I may not have the talent it
takes to be a professional artist. Instead, I turned to other things – school,
sports, music, etc. – and I thought that would be the end to my exploration in
arts, until I got to Duke. Frankly, I’m glad that all the classes I had planned
on taking were full and I was given no choice but to go through every single
course on ACES, the night before registration. Drawing class happened to fit my
schedule perfectly, and even until the first few weeks into the semester, this
class meant nothing more than an academic requirement that I should get a
decent grade on. First, the freedom of choice I was given was rather
uncomfortable; I had become too used to being given rigid instructions – those
“Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1-inch margins, double-spaced” – that I didn’t
know what to do when Professor Fick told us to choose any five objects. In the
beginning, I literally chose any objects that were lying around my room. Later
on, I took his advice to “tell a story” and began to look for a certain theme.
Weekly assignments became more than what I got graded on. I constantly wanted
to challenge myself; instead of drawing objects that I felt confident doing a
good job on, I would pick an object that I struggled with. I began to start the
assignments earlier than the night before it’s due. When I had the extra time
on me, I could actually enjoy drawing and take pride in my work. Another
delightful surprise was to see how much I improved over the semester. I had
previously thought that artistic ability is something innate, and practice
could never outrun talents.

Obviously,
there are other students who are talented, much better than myself at drawing.
I know that taking this course and getting an A does not mean I should take a
different path and now become an artist. However, what this course made me
realize is that I don’t have to be a naturally gifted artist to draw. Anyone
can draw, and when we invest the right amount of time and effort into a piece,
it can never go wrong.

Drawing is magic. The ability to express yourself through drawing
is extraordinary. The ability to translate what you see in real life onto paper
- intriguing.

Drawing at Duke helped me understand the power of drawing. I’ve never thought about it
before, but drawing can be quite fascinating. Before taking this class, I would
just find myself doodling random things and think nothing of it. Now, whenever
I draw, I want it to mean something. I want there to be story behind every drawing
I draw, I want to portray what I see and what I think.

Drawing is dynamic. The process of drawing is dynamic. On a
macroscopic scale, art is being innovated by new mediums, new schools of art,
new types of canvas. On a microscopic scale, the process of planning, creating,
perfecting, art is rather vigorous.

Drawing at Duke showed me that drawing takes time, effort, and most definitely patience.
When I look at all my assignment pieces or even the doodles in my sketchbook,
the drawings I took the most time on and had the most patience for turned out
looking more aesthetically pleasing. Looking back at this past semester, I can
confidently say that out of all my classes, I spent the most time out of class
for this one. As the semester progressed, I saw myself spend more and more time
on each assignment piece. I would plan, sketch, plan, draw, plan, draw, shade,
inspect, and (try to) perfect until I was exhausted. The process of creating a piece of art is rather long and tedious, but the end result is definitely worth it!

Drawing is personal. Everyone can draw. No one “cannot draw".
Everyone has his or her own sense and style of drawing.

My favorite part
of this class was when we got the chance to look at everyone’s drawings. I
loved seeing the different techniques and styles each student had. I could tell that towards the end of the semester, everyone developed their own style and technique. Seeing people's styles made me find my own. Toward the beginning of the semester, I struggled between using charcoal and pencil. I realized that I like using pencil better, because for me, it allowed me to create different textures better (and it's also a little bit less messier :P). I also figured out that I like using darker values and the eraser to highlight the lighter parts of the drawing.

Drawing is fun!Drawing has been my favorite class at Duke so far. The class didn't create the stomach-churning stress that most of the other courses that I have taken did. I actually used drawing assignments and sketchbook entries as a stress reliever! After taking this fundamental art course, I decided that I want to take more visual art courses at Duke. Thank you so much for an amazing semester Professor Fick!

Drawing has always been a huge part of my life. Doodling was always a stress-reliever, and clothing design has always remained a passion of mine. While I have experienced other mediums - photography, sculpture, painting, etc. - I always come back to the simple motions of pencil and charcoal. I have taken many art classes throughout high school and middle school. These classes made doing homework seem like a hobby rather than a repetitive task. Once I got to Duke, however, this type of class seemed impractical within the slew of computer science courses that I was required to take. Finally, though, senior year allowed me to take one of my most enjoyable courses, this one.

This semester has developed my skills as well as my confidence in drawing. In particular, towards the beginning, I was extremely hesitant about landscapes. I didn't quite understand how it would all come together, and I was definitely not prepared to show the class my creations. By the end, however, those projects became my favorite ones. I love drawing the natural world because it flows together, unlike a posed still life. The sky blends with the trees, which blend with the family walking in front of them. They all work together and create a "masterpiece" without having to stage anything. To me, that's what makes an artist - being able to look outside or around your apartment and visualizing the drawing that it could become.

As far as my future, I know it will include some sort of art. I will never cease to doodle across newspapers, to paint canvases in order to avoid purchasing actual artwork, to sketch beautiful dresses that I will eventually build. I love drawing, and I will always find a way to fit it into my schedule. I appreciate everything that this class has taught me and, more importantly, the hours that it forced me to stop my week of problem sets and take some time to be a little creative. Thank you!!

Born Feb. 1, 1962 in Tokyo, he graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music with a degree in traditional Japanese painting in 1986, followed by a PhD in 1993, although his work is nothing but traditional. His media include sculpture, painting, installation, digital imaging and performance. I knew him from his prints and didn't even realize all the other stuff that he was doing.

These are multiple versions of Mr. Dob, which is one of Murakami's iconic characters, and the name Dob is actually a reference to the Japanese phrase doboshite-doboshite that translates to "Why? Why?" His work is heavily influenced by anime, which has it's roots in post-war Japan when american comics became available. Note how some version of Mr. Dob look like sonic the hedgehog or mickey mouse. The cutesy look of anime is meant to reflect to child-like of post-war society, and it's not a coincidence that many anime titles have themes of war and ethics. The distortion of Mr. Dob as a meta-character are is interesting as they relate not just to the devastating mutations caused by nuclear radiation from the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, but I also like it as an irreverant take on form and identity.

Above, we can see the influence of traditional Japanese art. These two works above are Murakami's portraits of Durama, the renowned Zen Buddhist Monk. Daruma was a popular subject in ukiyo-e (japanese woodblock printing). He was known for saying that one should never take life too seriously, thus the humorous crossed eyes.

Murakami is a pioneer of a style called superflat (Supa-furatto), which is an intersection between the worlds of arts and commerce. Above, an ad campaign for Louis Vuitton. Below, the cover art for Kanye West's "Graduation." Similar to how Andy Warhol looked at marketing and consumerism, Murakami too has a pulse on daily life and pop culture. Not many artists are able to integrate the whole spectrum of a culture from past to present as he does. With that being said that, he has a very scathing critique of modern day Japanese society, which he describes as "empty." The flowers in both the opening and closing pictures are meant to show this sense of flatness. Yes it looks nice and all the flowers are happy, but the critique is that they have no meaning and are thus empty. Thus, Super Flat not only explores the idea of flatness in terms of spatial depth within his work, but also the flatness of mainstream japanese society. His progency include names such as Aya Takano and Yoshitomo Nara.

Murakami is also a boss. He runs his own art production company, Kaikai Kiki co. ltd, which operates out of Tokyo and New York. This is definitely not surprising given his exposure to commerce. Below is a self portrait with kaikai and kiki which are two more of Murakami's creations.

I really love drawing but it’s also the most frustrating thing ever. What I love about it is how it teaches you to see things differently, zenning out, the drawing process, and exploring different media.What I get frustrated about it really doesn’t have to do with drawing, but it’s that I love analyzing it and I can get carried away; and, due to practical reasons, I can never get my work to look as good as I want it to be.This was my first real semester of taking art seriously, and I’ve really enjoyed using the right side of my brain. I’m really into architecture and design, so most of my time drawing has been spent doing stuff besides the assignments, but i’m amazed at how much there is to learn just from drawing and going back to the basics. At the same time, it’s been so fun to look at art from a scientific, empirical approach, and seeing how the two ways of looking at things synergize.For me, there are two parts to drawing, seeing and creating. Seeing is more like a habit, and creating, or mark-making, is more technical, but both need to be practiced. The drawing process is about negotiating between these two aspects, to not just draw a picture, but describe a visual experience. So at the start of the semester, I wanted to learn as much as I could about the technical aspects of drawing, and I really obsessed over different types of graphite media, blenders, erasers etc. and ordered a bunch of stuff online. Now I have so much stuff that my room looks like a tornado went through it and at least 20+ different types of erasers.It’s really interesting to me how much of the visual experience is taken for granted, and it’s been a real challenge for me to retrain myself to look at things from an artistic perspective, but i’ve loved how different it’s been. Things like just walking around and looking at stuff and enjoying it, and understanding why I enjoy, or going to art museums and being able to think about art conceptually.I actually used to be really shy when it came to the arts, just because all my time in the Singaporean education system made me narrow my focus to maths and science very early on, and the arts were something a little frowned upon. Drawing was something that I wish I could do, but then never really got into it. Just from what I’ve learnt from drawing, I’m really glad that I tried it out. This drawing class has even made me reconsider my choice of major, and I’ll definitely be looking more into the visual arts, visual media studies, and trying to find a way to connect that with other departments. Thank you for this opportunity!And this is really cool: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbol51_parkour-motion-reel_creation?start=2#.UMDuCZPjm_4

When I was younger, my school required us to take art classes. I was never good at art and remember making the girl who was really great at art help me. I just wanted my final piece to look good and I didn't actually care if someone else drew the hard parts for me. When I got to high school I stopped taking art classes because they were no longer required. My mom always pushed me to take a drawing elective because she thought I was a good drawing. Actually, I wasn't. She just thought I was because I had other people help me or I traced things.

Finally, when I was abroad in Rome last semester there weren't that many classes that I would get credit for and my grades did not count so I figured I would take some art classes to make my mom happy. I took a sculpture class and a class called "Rome Sketchbook" where we went around Rome and drew things in our sketchbook. I took these classes with my friends and had a lot of fun in them. I had a little trouble in sculpture class because I would change my mind about what to create all the time. It took a little too much imagination for me. I did like Rome Sketchbook because I didn't have to make anything up, I was supposed to draw what I saw. By the end of this class, I realized that I could draw decently - all on my own.

I really liked my Rome Sketchbook class so I decided I would take a drawing class at Duke if I could fit it into my schedule. I was happy when drawing fit into my schedule this semester. When I got to class, it was daunting to hear that we'd be doing 2 drawings on the 19x24 paper every week on top of 4 sketchbook drawings. In Rome, I was supposed to do 2 sketchbook drawings a week.

Drawing this semester was definitely a huge time commitment. I am not at the point where I can draw quickly and still make it look good. I am extremely meticulous and found myself spending 15+ hours on all the drawings I produced that were actually good. On the weeks I let it become Wednesday before I even started my drawing, I hated this class. However, on the weeks that I didn't have much other work and was able to draw when I wanted to over the entire week (or 2 later in the semester), I loved drawing. It was a way to escape from the rest of my classes. It was great to be able to listen to music and be with my friends while I drew. When I study, I need absolute silence so I cannot be around others even doing work. Drawing was a nice change from this.

Over the semester I have figured out a little about my preferences and strengths/weaknesses with drawing. I do not like charcoal, I like pencil. I like drawing straight lines. I like drawing buildings and people and cars but I hate drawing trees. I don't get how other people can make their drawings so dark with pencil and have darks differentiated from darks. I have been able to use texture pretty well to differentiate objects but I need to work on my tone. I am bad at drawing from my mind. I like drawing from real life or from pictures.

After taking this class I have really changed the way I look at things. I'll be walking through campus and recognize the exact angle my classmates were facing when they drew their assignments. I also think about what would make for a cool drawing. A lot of time I think something would look good, but realize it is too overwhelming for me.

I hope to take the comic books class next semester. I have loved drawing the Batman characters in my sketchbook and final assignment so I think comic books would be fun for me. After I graduate, I hope I will keep drawing. I just need to find the time because if there is anything I've learned from this semester, drawing is physical labor that requires a lot of time but when you put the time in, the end result is something to be proud of. Looking back on some of my pieces from the semester, I have trouble believing 2 things. First, I created them. And second, they all started as empty, white, daunting pieces of bristol board.